Tuesday, July 7, 2009

RecklessRogues DJs, ehowes & Angelo, direct HOT fashion traffic on the runway in two live DJ sets. The sets were commissioned by fashion designer Liza Nay to accompany her redefined fashion show at the Kalamazoo Institute of Art. The show was the culmination of Liza's celebrated undergrad career in Western Michigan University's fashion design program.

She began her studies in 2005 having never sewn a single garment and by the end of her first year she completed an entire collection. Further efforts earned her "best of show" in the WMU student fashion exhibit and an invitatino to attend Chicago's Fashion Week as a New Generation Designer where she was given the Rising Star Award in 2008. As philanthropy chair of the Merchandising Opportunity Design Association (MODA) she began Project MODA, a youth mentorship program designed to teach local high school students about fashion design. "The success of Project MODA is one of my greatest accomplishments," said Liza.

redefined opened with a Project MODA collection, many of the students modeling their own amazing and forward thinking designs. Six outstanding collections designed by Nay during her time at WMU followed. RecklessRogues crafted the musical selections into an atmosphere perfectly complimenting each collection. The show ended with wine and hors d'oeuvres catered by Alano Salon; it was certainly the summer fashion event of 2009.

Upon graduating from WMU in 2009, Liza was honored as a 2009 Presidential Scholar, the highest academic award the school can bestow on an undergraduate, being selected by faculty members as the most outstanding senior in the Textiles and Apparel Studies program. Selection is based on the students' general academic excellence, academic and/or artistic excellence in their majors, and intellectual and/or artistic promise. She is now further pursuing her career at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology. We expect to see many more great things from her in the future.